![[VIDEO] Rude clients – how to eliminate salon no-shows](https://worldwidesalonmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/How-to-stop-no-shows-1080x675.png)
by Marnie Kallmeyer | Apr 16, 2021 | Blog, The Right Mindset
Here’s a frightening exercise for you:
1) Take a look at last month’s appointments in your salon.
2) Now, tick the ones who didn’t bother to show up.
3) Multiply that by the average ticket price.
What’s the number? A thousand dollars? Two thousand? More?
You’re not alone.
“Hair & Beauty salons are losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year because of no-shows, and the lack of deposit-taking policies for fear of upsetting clients.”
That was the headline on a blog post after a survey we did a couple of years ago. And it seems, little has changed. No-shows are still costing our industry a fortune in lost revenue.
Mostly, because so many small business owners are terrified of asking for deposits to secure appointments.
But it CAN be so simple to both eliminate the fear, AND stop the no-shows, as long-time WSM member Anita Bowe of Twisted Desire salon in Brisbane explains….
If salons want to be taken seriously by their clients and stop hemorrhaging money, they have to take the lead from industries like travel, hospitality and entertainment, which simply refuse to take bookings without payment. Customers accept those policies completely. Try booking a concert ticket and telling them you’ll pay when you get there.
It just doesn’t happen.
Another long-time WSM Member, Sharon-Lee McGaw, says deposit taking has dramatically changed the way her clients behave:
I hope the experiences of these salon owners have given you some comfort, and some confidence to do what it takes to stop those no-shows dead in their tracks!
WAS THIS USEFUL?
Greg and his team are second to none when it comes to getting clients through the door. As a start up Laser Tattoo Clinic with no reviews, I'm thrilled to say business thrived in the first five months of opening (pre Covid19) all due to the great advertising and follow up links provided by the team at WWMarketing. I'm looking forward to continuing the journey post Covid19 lockdown. Thank you, can't recommend you highly enough 🙂
Owner, Original Skin Tattoo Removal
For the past 10 years Greg and the team from WSM have always facilitated a highly engaging, dynamic and professional marketing platform . We have been equipped with helpful tools focused around client retention, new client lead generation and past client re-engagement. Investing in this marketing program has helped grow our business to what it is today. Highly recommend. Also I would like to say the help we had from Sam with the launch of our Social Media Shops and advertising will be sure to drive more traffic our way.
Owner, Allura Hair Boutique
by Greg Milner | Aug 17, 2015 | Featured, Policies and Procedures
Are no-shows costing you a fortune? Terrified of taking deposits?
Lots of our Members have faced, and solved this precise problem. Before Kim Susskind (Ebony Beauty, Noosa) took action and implemented a deposit policy, no-shows were running at 20 a month. Now, they’re down to…three!
In this video, Kim reveals the fear she and her staff had to overcome – and the letter she gives to clients that clearly sets out her deposit and cancellation policy.
[cf]Kim[/cf]
Want the actual two-page letter that sets you up to take deposits from clients? WSM Members can log in here to the Members Only Million Dollar Resource section and download it in Word format.
NOT YET A MEMBER? Go here to find out how you can get this plus literally hundreds of other proven marketing & business templates for your salon or spa.
by Greg Milner | Apr 29, 2013 | Australia, Blog, New Zealand
If you are part of the statistic that shows Australia and New Zealand salons lose an estimated $423 million per annum (ouch!) in customer no-shows then you will want to read this report.
Stop banging your head against a wall because there are solutions to the problem. In this 15-page in depth report you will find:
- The ‘You and Us – A Beautiful Partnership’ letter, laying down the ground rules and expectations between the salon and customer from the word ‘GO!’
- The actual words you and your staff can use to communicate your salons cancellation policy effectively and confidently to a customer.
- And some great advice on the best ways to remind your customers about their appointments so they don’t forget.
Plus the report also shares our complete findings from the survey.
And the report is already proving to be a HIT with salons who have read it so far, like Trish House from Esthetica in Dargaville, NZ…
“Hi Chris
I just want to say how much I appreciate the help with reducing No-Shows in our clinic. This is something I’ve been “meaning to get to” for ages but just haven’t sat down and nutted out a strategy for it. I finally got the facility for accepting credit card payment over the phone last month, and now with the report I have the impetous and direction to implement this policy properly once and for all!”
The No-show report is available now on the Salon Finder App website. To claim your FREE copy of the report it’s quite simple.
First, click here or visit www.salonfinderapp.com
Second, either register if it’s your first time here, or log back in if you are a returning user.
Third, once registered and logged in you will see the report on the left hand side of screen, you can click on it to download.
I hope this report goes someway to helping you reduce costly no-shows!
Chris D’Aguiar-Sanders
+64 9 476 1592
0800 029 668 (Within NZ)
P.s Industry groups Worldwide Salon Marketing, The Salon Staff Coach and Salon Finder App collaborated to bring you this ‘money-saving’ report.
P.p.s Click here to find out how you can join hundreds of other salon owners as Members of Worldwide Salon Marketing
by Greg Milner | Mar 20, 2013 | Featured, The Smell of Success
New Survey Reveals the Shocking Cost of ‘No-Shows’
Hair & Beauty salons are losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year because of no-shows, and the lack of deposit-taking policies for fear of upsetting clients.
In a new survey conducted by Worldwide Salon Marketing, the vast majority of 130 salon owners questioned revealed they had no policy of taking deposits to secure appointments, and even it they did have a cancellation policy in place, it lacked ‘teeth’.
Telling figures that show most salons are letting clients get away with murder
According to WSM founder & CEO Greg Milner, the results are a wake-up call to the industry. “If salons want to be taken seriously by their clients and stop hemorrhaging money, they have to take the lead from industries like travel, hospitality and entertainment, which simply refuse to take bookings without payment,” he says. “Customers accept those policies completely. Try booking a concert ticket and telling them you’ll pay when you get there. It just doesn’t happen.”
The survey of 125 salons reveals
- 88% do not take deposits.
- The average annual loss through no-shows is a whopping $10,000 per salon, with one salon reporting a staggering $52,000 – even though fully 80% of salons claimed they sent appointment reminders by text message.
- Extrapolated across Australia’s approx. 25,000 hair & beauty businesses, the losses represent $250 million annually.
- Of the 12% of salons who insist on deposits for appointments, the average annual losses dropped to less than $2,000
- Asked ‘How many times must a client ‘no-show’ before you no longer take bookings from them?’, 31.5% said three times, while another 32% said “I always let them book another appointment because I’m too scared to lose the potential business.”
It appears the industry is beset by fear. According to one respondent,
“We do have a cancellation policy, but rarely enforce payment, as so few other beauty clinics do so. Clients will not come back.”
And this from a salon in Melbourne:
“I would like to put a cancellation thing in place but I don’t have credit card facility nor any way of safely storing peoples numbers. And yip I am scared of scaring people away.”
But that fear appears largely unfounded. Said another salon owner,
“We started taking credit cards or a cash deposit on February 1st this year, for the first time. It works a charm, no more no shows, the clients now know we’re serious.”
The survey shows that among those salons which insist on deposits or pre-payments, the rate of no-shows drops dramatically across the board. “It also positions the salon as a business to be respected,” says Mr Milner. “It’s just plain rude to book a one or two-hour appointment and simply not turn up. You wouldn’t dare do that to your doctor or dentist because you respect them too much. It’s about time hair & beauty professionals swallowed a small teaspoon of cement, and hardened up,” he said.
Those who have ‘hardened up’ and imposed a strict cancellation policy backed up with deposits report dramatically-improved results.
“We’ve had a 100% Cancellation Policy in place for almost 6 years. It has virtually eliminated no-shows and forces clients to respect our business. EVERYONE in this industry should do the same – it will educate clients that they are visiting professionals whose time is valuable,”
says a Sydney salon owner. And a West Australian salon owner agrees, with impeccable logic:
“It should become common practice in all salons to take deposits, like the hotel and holiday industry, people will just accept it as common practice. Nothing is gained from those who are scared, and just end up hurting the industry with their fear. Even Spreets and other common daily deal sites do it, so why not the salon itself?”
Here’s how veteran WSM member Marnie Kallmeyer describes her deposit-taking and cancellation policy:
[cf]Marnie[/cf]
BONUS GIFT for salon owners who want to eliminate ‘no-shows’ forever!
Want to stop no-shows? Join the Lite marketing program and get this proven client letter FREE – a Bonus Gift valued at $297 – but PRICELESS!
This is the first page of a 2-page, proven client letter that stops no-shows dead. Carefully setting out what your client can expect of you, and importantly, what you expect of your client, this letter has been used successfully by hundreds of WSM member salons around the world – and you can easily edit it to suit your own salon.
Join the Lite program FREE for the first 14 days – and you’ll get to download this letter as a Bonus Gift worth $297 – but priceless when you consider how much no-shows are already costing your business every year!
